I’ve always been told by my (hilariously stupid and useless) diabetes specialists that my daily units of insulin should be roughly the same as my weight in kg. I admit, in my case, it seems they may have actually gotten something right. I take around 50 units a day, and my weight is slightly more than that. Now, it’s really messing with my mind to imagine The Useless Ones actually getting something right, so I need to know: could they REALLY have told me something somewhat accurate?
At diagnostic kick-off, the general formula used to calculate one’s total daily dose is weight(kg) x 0,55 and to adapt the dose according to your insulinic sensitivity. Nowadays I nearly abide by this (65kg, +/- 38 U), but at diagnosis and following years I consistently used 52 U, while weight increased from under 60kg to early 70s. Maybe your specialists hail from a planet where gravity isn’t as attractive as here on earth?
Not quite sure how the whole weight/units malarky works, checked out Novomix’s web site and they reckon between 1 and 0.5 u/kg per day. I’m 66kg and currently take between 20 and 25 units. Got no idea what my resistance level is, my pancreas only upped and left about 5 months ago.
By the way, if my fave ABBA song is sos, my fave C&W song has gotta be Islets in the Stream (sorry!!)
Has you pancreas completely given up the ghost? I was diagnosed quite early in my pancreas’ destruction, so I injected very small amounts to begin with. My pancreas would then produce a bit less insulin and I would adjust all my levels; it would then tail off a bit more and I would adjust all my levels again and so on and so on and so on. It took about 6-8 months to tail off completely, at which point I was going potty and wishing my stupid pancreas would just stop working completely so I could get on with it!
Is that what is referred to as the honeymoon period? Has any research been done as to whether said tailing off speed is linked to anything else (like age maybe? The older/younger you are, the longer it takes to fully self destruct?)
@annette – I understand the honeymoon period to be when you first go on insulin and some of the load is taken off your failing pancreas, as a result it breathes a sign of relief (figuratively) and starts producing its own more effectively for a little while. I think, as with anything else diabetes, each person’s experience will ;
Think mine has given up totally, for the first couple of months I’d get some quite spectacular lows as I think my pancreas was trying its best to kick out a bit of insulin and I’d got the dose a bit wrong. One low was a doozy as I thought it was a particularly hot chinese i was eating causing me to sweat loads, cue the shakes etc and a 1.8! Not bettered that one yet(strangely enough). I seem to have stabilised at the moment but as I’m new to all this so things may change. Taking it all one day at a time and trying to think of all the daft places I can shoot up, see how many people get upset (sad game, but fun if you’re me ha ha).
This idea’s a new one on me, none of my DSNs or doctors has ever mentioned a link between weight and insulin dosage. Truth to tell it would probably be a bit scary, ‘cos despite my (excessive) weight, I would be shooting up far to little insulin to make any difference to my body’s refusenik T2ishness. Shall we say that it would take two @Annette to make one Teloz…
Does this make me a standard measurement of weight, then? Like Wales/Belgium (for large areas), football pitches (for smaller areas), and buses (for height/length)?
@Annette – or me to be a standard measurement of overweight? Like, “You’re a @Teloz -and-a-half, I can’t believe you’re still here! That’s three @Annettes!”
The chief aim of calculating a total daily dose by means of weight is to get an idea of what your basal dose should be, which is supposed to be round about 50% of your daily total; none of these calculated doses are carved in stone – there’s no commandment stating “Thou shalt be banished from the diabetic fratty sorority/ sorry fraternity…” if your requirements exceed/fall short of it.
Off topic, I’ve caught many a sub-2 fish…but usually that is after guzzling glucose – I’m not capable of handling a meter before taking antidote, otherwise I could have bragged with even tinier plankton